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November Musings (Excerpt from Fall 2024)

Fall is finally here in West Marin. The rain has started, and personally, I love showing property during the fall-winter when the halcyon days of summer have given way to the thirst-quenching rains and intermittent dramas of “atmospheric rivers.” Some properties really encourage the cozy hunkering down as the hills' green and full streams invite steelhead and salmon to make their pilgrimages to ancient spawning pools. As I think about hunkering down, I am also reminded of comfort food, big mugs of tea, and bowls of soup. We are blessed with bountiful produce in Bolinas, and it is squash season. So, I want to share an easy classic soup recipe with a Bolinas Twist. All fresh ingredients can be found at The Gospel Flats Farm Stand or Star Route Farm (on Fridays), while all other ingredients can be found at The Bolinas People Store. Creamy Squash Soup Ingredients: 1 Kale Bunch-Star Route Farms 1-2 Squash-Gospel Flats, Star Route Farms (acorn, butternut, or kabocha) 1-2 Cans of Coconut Milk-Bolinas People Store To taste, Garlic-The Bolinas People Store or Gospel Flats To taste, Onion-The Bolinas People Store or Gospel Flats To taste, 2-3 Cups of Chicken or Vegetable Broth-Bolinas People Store Fresh herbs of your choice Flats or Bolinas People Store (sage, thyme, oregano, chives, etc) Coast Cafe Sourdough Bread (Lovingly baked by Chef Enrique). Available at the Coast Cafe Kiosk. Pro-tip: Keep the squash seeds and roast them as a topper for your soup! How to Prepare: I am a realtor, not a chef, so this is one of those “feel your way through” recipes. I would grab the ingredients, but use your common sense. The gist is that you bake the squash in the oven, sautee your garlic, onions, and kale (massage it first) in a soup pot, peel the squash and puree in the blender, or mash the cooked and peeled squash in the soup pot. It is much easier to peel the skin of a squash when it is cooked. Also, use some coconut milk to make the mashing or blending process easier. Once you have the pureed squash in the pot, you can put it in the rest of the coconut milk and the broth, adjust it to how thick you want the soup to be, mix well, and let it simmer for a while, seasoning as you desire. And when it's done, enjoy it with a thick slice of Enrique’s incredible sourdough with a generous slathering of butter. It's so simple, so classic, and so yummy! Let me know if you make it!